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kejaed

1,047 karma · joined November 21, 2014

Chief Engineer

http://kje.ca (email: ken@) http://linkedin.com/in/kennethjamesedwards

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/kejaed; my proof: https://keybase.io/kejaed/sigs/hitw0c0Sng-l_SdqQlTydZor7J1Ff1rQcRwZ3jtx3K0 ]

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kejaed··on Ask HN: Application Engineering Design Documents
If structure is what you are looking for MIL-STD-498 is good for that...

https://github.com/VCTLabs/MIL-STD-498/tree/master/MIL-STD-4...

kejaed··on Uber sells self-driving unit in deal that will push Aurora’s valuation to $10B
Still rumours

https://www.theverge.com/2020/12/2/22086597/uber-sells-flyin...

kejaed··on Drifting Efficiently Through the Stratosphere Using Deep Reinforcement Learning
A link to the paper published to go with the blog post, "Autonomous navigation of stratospheric balloons using reinforcement learning":

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2939-8

kejaed··on James Randi Has Died
How did the debate go?
kejaed··on Apple announces Apple One subscription bundle for Music, TV Plus, and more
None of that garbage and pretty good quality. Why not try for a month or two?
kejaed··on Show HN: GradientMagic
As I opened this on my phone I thought that these would make a nice background image.

While I recognize that the whole premise is that CSS gradients are better suited than images for their intended purpose, I immediately looked to see if the website offered a way to render an image and download it. Or perhaps even turn off the UI and have a no chrome view so one could take a screenshot.

Perhaps this could be a monetization strategy, instant gratification download for $1 with low friction Apple/Google Pay (perhaps watermark removal). I know this wasn’t anywhere near the intended purpose of your project, it is just what came to mind for something I might pay for when seeing it.

kejaed··on Invert, always, invert
I came here to note the same thing, from an aerospace perspective.

In a formal development following something like ARP4754A even before one works on the requirements that a system has to meet, the high level system functions are considered and a Functional Hazard Assessment is done to look at the criticality of those functions failing. Then one can add requirements and architectural mitigations as the system and Safety Assessment is developed.

kejaed··on Building DIY LED strips for fun
That looks really slick. Nice job!

These sorts of projects can be a lot of fun. I did the same sort of things a couple of years ago on my deck.

I had a rpi and Arduino in the loop cause that’s what I had lying around, the ESP solution sounds much simpler.

Then we moved a couple months later...

https://imgur.com/gallery/E4lbU

kejaed··on CUDA 11.0
You could get an Nvidia Jetson Nano for $100 USD

https://developer.nvidia.com/embedded/jetson-nano-developer-...

kejaed··on Show HN: Map33.js – a library to build 3D maps with Three.js
How about Cesium.js?

You can drop files onto the globe.

https://cesium.com/cesiumjs/cesium-viewer/

kejaed··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (July 2020)
MMIST | Ottawa, Canada | FT ONSITE | Software Engineering Manager

MMIST is hiring a Software Engineering Manager to lead our team of software engineers and developers in producing cutting edge cargo UAVs, parachutist navigation systems, and space & aircraft recovery systems.

Our customers include special operations forces around the world as well as household (and HN) names in the aircraft and space recovery side of the business.

We are looking for a software manager who is experienced in the aerospace SDLC (DO-178C).

Ability to work on a Canadian Controlled Goods registered program is required.

Please see the link below for more details and how to apply.

https://www.mmist.ca/phone/about.html#careers

kejaed··on Raspberry Pi announces $50 12-megapixel camera with interchangeable lenses
The original pi camera can be made to run at 660 fps with reduced line count, pretty neat hack!

https://blog.robertelder.org/recording-660-fps-on-raspberry-...

kejaed··on Ask HN: How can I be a better team lead? (corporate)
I'd say don't think about nudging, you are the manager / lead now, so manage and lead. Take a step back (detach as Jocko would say) and when you do find the blockers and dependencies, think about what you could have done differently to find them sooner. What questions could you have asked of yourself or your team to have sussed them out when the time would have been right?

When you mentioned 'nudging', it reminded me of when I started to move into a leadership role. I was worried about pushback, but what I found is that the team was looking for leadership, ready to have guidance to navigate the organization and management, to pull different parts together so they could focus on a) what they are good at and b) what they'd like to be working on.

Measurement is the four letter word of management isn't it? It's something I'm always working at improving. Right now our KPIs are at more of a macro rather than micro level as we navigate the successful implementation of (more) formal Systems and Software Engineering processes. These macro indicators are things that matter to be business, like on-time releases, well estimated SW development tasks, and successful customer tests & deliveries.

But those are really AS9100 / ISO 9001 KPIs, and while important to keep an eye on from a company point of view, I measure my teams by the conversations and moods at coffee and the feedback during our one-on-ones. The work will always be there, and the team is not a KPI or sprint velocity, but a group of people just trying to do their best, and if they aren't, shoving metrics or backlogs in their face isn't ever going to help, but a conversation will. Just my two cents, I probably veer a little to the EQ side of things most days.

kejaed··on Ask HN: How can I be a better team lead? (corporate)
Were you a team member on this team before you were promoted to lead? If so, it's going to be a tough road ahead because you are going from a peer / co-worker relationship to a manager & direct report relationship. These are tough transitions to make, and a reason the military will often transfer someone who is newly put into a leadership position.

Have you started to train yourself as a lead / manager? A couple of resources I've found useful in the switch have been Manager Tools [0] (book, site, and podcast) as well as The Manager's Path [1].

While his shtick can be a bit thick at times, I enjoyed Extreme Ownership by Willink [2], if only because it codified a lot of thoughts I've had for a long time. I've worked with a lot of military and defence so the stories and life views he teaches through didn't throw me, but I know it does for some people so YMMV.

I have found that the Manager's Tools suggestion that the single best thing you can do is have weekly one-on-ones with your team to be true. It can be tough, especially if you still have a lot of your IC responsibilities alongside your new team lead roles, but it is truly remarkable how much more insight you can get into what your team is thinking from holding these sessions. This is they crystal ball you are looking for. And remember, the weeklies are about your team members, not about you (refer to manager tools).

[0] https://www.manager-tools.com/products/effective-manager-boo...

[1] https://www.amazon.ca/Managers-Path-Leaders-Navigating-Growt...

[2] https://www.amazon.ca/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/12...

kejaed··on Show HN: Take photos of your poop for better gut health
That’s a pretty shitty thing to say.
kejaed··on Ask HN: What were your most impactful podcast episodes from 2019?
If you don’t mind me asking, what sort of sleep device did you get and what has it done for you?
kejaed··on I almost sold Baremetrics for $5M
An investment bank?
kejaed··on Ask HN: Are there any openly available software architecture documents?
This might initially look to be be a little too specific for military / aerospace, but it can act as a good guideline for a table of contents and examples of what might go in each section.

https://github.com/VCTLabs/MIL-STD-498/raw/master/MIL-STD-49...

The US Military came up with their own standard for systems and software development (MIL-STD-498), which as evolved into IEEE and ISO standards. The nice thing about the US Military's standards is that they came with Data Item Descriptions (DIDs) that specify exactly what goes in each document.

kejaed··on Avro Arrow blueprints on display after sitting in man's home for decades
Can confirm.
kejaed··on Avro Arrow blueprints on display after sitting in man's home for decades
Any references as to why they didn’t ?
kejaed··on Ask HN: What purchase of &lt$100 has most +ve impact on life in recent years?
Also, what makes you prefer Office365?
kejaed··on AirPods Are Becoming a Platform?
When I look at AirPods and AirPods Pro I don’t necessarily see a platform, but what I do see is the 2nd wearable hit from Apple (after the Apple Watch), and what is likely the basis for their AR platform.

Wearable, miniature, real-time allow-latency (audio) processing and with the precise indoor location tracking on the iPhone 11 series, I see Apple setting the technology stage (as the often do) for a true platform, AR, with these technologies coming together.

This is one of the pieces I’ve been meaning to write up for my audience of zero...

kejaed··on Darktable 3.0
I’m a happy user of iCloud Photos for this exact reason, 40k+ photos from 2005 to today. Having the ability to access all of them from any of my devices is just great.
kejaed··on The Startup Side Project Bubble (2013)
2013
kejaed··on The Zen of Weight Lifting
Interesting to see this here. I got some internet coaching from Jordan when he was still affiliated with Starting Strength. I'm curious, if you don't mind, how did you find Barbell Medicine?
kejaed··on Ask HN: Which backpack do you use for work and work travel?
Yeah, MOLLE on the front and side will tend to do that.
kejaed··on Ask HN: Which backpack do you use for work and work travel?
Goruck GR1 here. I got it 2.5 years ago before the prices went up, love it. It’s not too far on the tacticool side of things, but close.
kejaed··on Ask HN: How do you backup your Mac?
Time machine to hard drive plugged into my AirPort Extreme, BackBlaze and iCloud for files.
kejaed··on Delays in Boeing Max Return Began with Near-Crash in Simulator
The article could have used the industry term, Single-Event Upset, rather than use the more eye catching gamma ray term over and over. It's a failure mode that aircraft and spacecraft have to deal with.

You keep CRCs of data in critical areas of memory and constantly check them to make sure you are only processing valid data, or use equivalent of ECC memory.

kejaed··on Delays in Boeing Max Return Began with Near-Crash in Simulator
Single Event Upsets are a real thing and if they had a failure mode that missed that, it's a problem that needs to be fixed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-event_upset

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